“It has happened,” said Philip Bump. For the first time in human history, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels hit a daily average of 400 parts per million (ppm) last week. “There is now more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than at any point since 3 million years ago.” Back then, global temperatures were about 7 degrees higher, the Arctic was ice-free, […]
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It’s been five years since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 and releasing a torrent of petroleum into the sea. But despite a massive, multibillion-dollar cleanup effort, the effects of the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history may linger for decades. BP (British Petroleum), which operated the rig, has already paid […]
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Stanford scientists have found that chronically low levels of oxygen throughout the oceans hampered the recovery of life after the Permian-Triassic extinction, the most catastrophic die-off in our planet’s history. Also known as the “Great Dying,” global ecosystems collapsed as some 90 percent of species perished in this extinction event 250 million years ago. The new findings, published this week […]
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In its early days, Earth became hell. About 3.3 billion years ago, new research indicates, at least two massive asteroids 30 to 60 miles in diameter smashed into this planet, boiling the oceans and sending atmospheric temperatures soaring to an unimaginable 932 degrees Fahrenheit. Stanford University scientists have found evidence of this extreme era in a geological formation in South […]
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Children who attend schools near busy roads could see their brain development hindered by air pollution, according to a new study by Spanish scientists. Researchers in Barcelona spent a year tracking the developmental progress of more than 2,700 children ages 7 to 10 at 39 schools in the city. They found that the cognitive skills of students at schools near […]
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Antarctica’s Ancient Fossils Deep beneath the ice and snow of Antarctica, a hidden world of prehistoric creatures is being uncovered, offering scientists a glimpse into an era when the now-frozen continent was teeming with life. Recent fossil discoveries suggest that Antarctica was once a lush, temperate land home to dinosaurs, enormous amphibians, and unique plant life. Fossils Tell a Different […]
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When you travel to Antarctica you are in for a trip of a lifetime. Because of its location you are required to travel with a government scientific program or have a private expedition take you there. The over 50,000 tourists that travel there every year find the sightseeing and wildlife watching most adventurous. Unless you can sail your own boat, […]
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Deep beneath Antarctica’s vast ice sheet lies one of the most mysterious and least explored mountain ranges on Earth—the Gamburtsev Mountain Range. First discovered in 1958 by a Soviet expedition, these peaks, stretching about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) across East Antarctica, remain hidden under more than 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) of ice, making them a scientific enigma. A Subglacial Mountain […]
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Heatwaves that used to arrive once every 20 years or so could become annual events by 2075 across almost two-thirds of the planet’s land surface – if humans go on burning ever more fossil fuels and releasing ever more greenhouse gases. Claudia Tebaldi, visiting scientist at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, and Michael Wehner, senior staff scientist at […]
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Ocean temperatures first collected during one of the great 19th-century voyages of exploration confirm one of the consequences of climate change: humans have managed to warm even the deepest parts of the ocean. A new study in Nature Climate Change calculates that the amount of heat absorbed by the ocean has doubled in the last 18 years. A third of […]
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